Crellin Elementary School is a Maryland Reward School for 2013

With provisions set forth by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Maryland has identified three groups of Title I schools (Reward, Priority, and Focus) to allow for the most specialized attention and support for each specific school and to focus on closing the achievement gaps within all schools.

Reward Schools (18)
• Reward Schools are recognized in two categories: Title I Highest Performing Reward Schools (Category 1) and Title I Highest Progress Reward Schools (Category 2). Reward Schools are identified annually and this year there are 18 schools statewide that meet the criteria for Reward Schools as defined in the ESEA Flexibility document. Maryland has14 schools that have been identified as Highest Performing Reward Schools and 4 schools that have been identified as Highest Progress Reward Schools.

Category 1 Schools
• Title I Highest Performing Reward Schools will have met the Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO) for “all students” and all subgroups for two consecutive years and have a 10 percent or less achievement gap between “all students” and subgroups and the school is designated in Strand 1 or 2 for two consecutive years. For this school year, all 14 Category 1 schools are identified as Highest Performing Rewards Schools.
• Of the schools that are considered Highest Performing Reward Schools, those that are additionally in the top 10 percent of all Title I schools, indicating the maximum amount of improvement in student performance on MSA tests from 2009-2013, will be designated as Distinguished Highest Performing Reward Schools. No schools met the criteria for this school year.
• In addition, if a Highest Performing Reward School has improved its “all students” performance by at least 10 percentage points and the school is made up of 50 percent or more economically disadvantaged students, it will receive the title of a Superlative Highest Performing Reward School. No schools met the criteria for this school year.

Category 2 SchoolsHighest Progress Reward Schools are those Title I schools that have significantly reduced the gap in achievement between the subgroups from 2009-2013. These schools must have made at least 10 percentage point gain in the “all students” and have a 10 percent or less gap between the performance of “all students” and that of any other performing subgroup.